Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Evaluating The Microbial Experience Influence On Anti-Tumor Immune Response, Jessica A. Ensing

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

Despite the steady increase of hygienic standards, the CDC continues to report an increase of immune-mediated diseases such as allergies and asthma. Human avoidance of microbial exposure and subsequently less experienced immune systems may be the cause for this increase. We investigated if increased microbial exposure results in increased immunity to cancer (B16 melanoma) by measuring activated lymphocytes between two groups of C57Bl/6 mice: specific pathogen free (SPF) mice (which had little microbial exposure) and cohoused (COH) mice (which were exposed to numerous microbes). Previous research shows that the CoH mouse model mimics a human adult’s immune system, while the …

Literature Review On Drosophila Research In Parkinson’S Disease, Maryann Jaquith

Honors Projects

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases. It is characterized by its main symptom of a tremor that usually starts in one limb. The four cardinal symptoms of PD are tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability. While the four cardinal symptoms are all motor symptoms there are non-motor symptoms for PD which include cognitive changes, sleeping disorders, lightheadedness, early satiety, and mood disorders. PD is characterized by dopaminergic (DA) neuron loss and the accumulation of Lewy bodies (LB) which are predominantly composed of α-synuclein (α-Syn) protein.

α-Syn is a protein found abundantly in the brain. It …

From The Dinner Pot To Smoking Pot; How A Better Understanding Of Cannabidiol In Crayfish Could Alleviate Anxiety And Modulate Hunger, Christopher Michael Timmer

Masters Theses

Anxiety affects approximately 1/3 of the US population and presents in many different forms, ranging from social to panic disorders. It also presents with high comorbidity for other mental disorders. One treatment is Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) which allow for increased activation of serotonin (5-HT) receptors. SSRIs come with an extensive list of side effects, which can fail to maintain quality of life. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a cannabis derived compound which has been shown to decrease anxiety by activation of multiple subtype 5-HT amine receptors. CBD has few side effects, is not psychoactive, and exhibits anti-psychotic properties. The current …

Microbial Experience Influences Tumor- Infiltrating T Lymphocytes, Hanna Groeber

Masters Theses

Immune cells, including T cells, have been used for anti-cancer therapy with varying degrees of success. One potential reason for immunotherapy failures in clinical trials may be that typical specific pathogen free (SPF) mice do not accurately replicate human microbial experience, which has important influence on shaping the adaptive immune response. Recently, several previous studies have shown that the immune system of SPF mice more closely resembles newborn human immunity, whereas immune systems from mice exposed to diverse pathogens more closely reflect adult human immunity.

To study the impact of microbial experience on the immune response, we have adopted a …

The Determination Of Phosphorylation Of Nato3 By Pka, Miranda M. Regenold

Masters Theses

One of the leading regulators of neuronal cell differentiation in the CNS is the family of basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) transcription factors. One of these proteins, Nato3, is associated with the formation of dopaminergic neurons. Transcription factors can be regulated by kinase activity, and in order to detect the associated change of phosphorylation of Nato3, we have generated Nato3 with specific epitope tags that allow for the detection and isolation of the Nato3 protein. Through subcloning techniques and a successful transformation of the Nato3 gene with the sequences of the 3X-Flag epitope and the Myc epitope into the pcDNA3.0 vector, we …

Erk1/2 Do Not Phosphorylate Proteins In Mitochondria And Myofilaments, Tanner Napierala

Student Scholars Day Posters

Heart disease continues to be the most prevalent health issue in the United States. Previous studies have demonstrated the cardio-protective benefit of an increase in extracellular signal regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) activity in mice. In this study, genetically modified mice with knockouts of both the DUSP6 and DUSP8 genes (DKO) were used to study whether increased ERK1/2 phosphorylation in DKO mice changes the expression of these death-related proteins. We found out the increase in ERK1/2 phosphorylation mainly stayed in cytoplasm and the expression levels of BCl-2 and Bax were not altered. We also investigated whether myofilament proteins could …

Predator Odor Stress On Stress And Metabolic Endocrine, Morgan Block, Katie Wilk

Student Scholars Day Posters

It is known that the brain and gut ‘talk’ to each other, which is important for both physical and mental health as shown by associations between metabolic syndrome and mental illness in humans. Neuropeptides found in both the brain and gut are active in this communication and may mediate links between stress, metabolism, and psychopathology. This study aims to determine whether single exposure to predator odor is able to produce long-term changes in the endocrine system as measured by plasma concentrations of the “stress hormone” corticosterone and “hunger hormone” ghrelin. Male and female mice were exposed to one hour of …

Testing The Ancestral Function Of Divergent Candida Albicans Virulence-Associated Proteins Via Expression In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Mutants, Curtis Mack

Student Scholars Day Posters

Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen and a member of the normal human microbiota. It is closely related to the harmless fungus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Some genes associated with the virulent nature of C. albicans are similar to genes in S. cerevisiae. Three of these genes, PHO13, NRG1, and TUP1 are known to repress the change from yeast to filamentous growth in C. albicans, an important virulence trait. However, similar genes in S. cerevisiae are known to have functional differences. Our goal was to see if the ancestral function of these genes have drifted apart by examining …

The Role Of Erk 1/2 Proteins In Diabetic Cardiomyopathy, Megan Coble

Student Scholars Day Posters

Diabetes is characterized by inadequate utilization of glucose due to a lack of insulin. Cardiomyopathy is defined as chronic disease of the heart muscle. A correlation between diabetes and the onset of cardiomyopathy has been suggested though a complete understanding of this relationship remains to be determined. Induction of diabetes within mice via the injection of streptozotocin will allow for thorough investigation of this correlation. Enhancement of the proteins ERK 1/2, via the deletion of genes DUSP 6/8, has been shown to be a protective agent against various heart pathologies. By inducing diabetes within both wild type and DUSP 6/8 …

Scoliosis And Its Treatment In Adults, Hilary Skalski

Student Scholars Day Posters

Scoliosis is a greater than ten-degree curve in the spine in the coronal plane. There are many types of scoliosis, with the most common being adolescent idiopathic. The most common type in adults is degenerative scoliosis, caused by the wear and tear of the spine. In adults, treatment options are selected based on symptoms caused by the curvature. Treatments include lifestyle changes, medications, physical therapy and surgery. Two common surgical treatments are a laminectomy for decompression or a spinal fusion. The dissection of a 92-year-old male cadaver revealed scoliosis of lumbar vertebrae one through five (L1-5). A post-mortem laminectomy then …

Early Cell-Cell Coupling Impairs Stem Cell Retention When Co-Cultured With Hypoxic Cardiomyocytes, Jack Tietema

Student Scholars Day Posters

Rationale: Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC) induce beneficial effects in the heart following hypoxia but loss of these cells would diminish their effect. We hypothesized that coupling between BM-MSC and cardiomyocytes (CM) through gap junctions (GJ) during hypoxia may play an important role in stem cell retention. Methods and Results: Both human and murine BM-MSC express connexin43 (Cx43), a critical protein in the formation of GJ. FACS analysis revealed that BM-MSC exhibited a significant reduction in apoptosis (3-5 fold; p

The Effects Of Saido Learning On The Cognition Of Patients With Dementia: A Retrospective Study, Stephanie N. Laduke

Honors Projects

SAIDO Learning is a cognitive and social intervention developed by the Kumon Institute in 2004 to slow the progress of symptoms in patients diagnosed with dementia. Today, twenty-three nursing facilities nationwide utilize SAIDO Learning. The data in this retrospective study compare the baseline Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) scores to the MMSE scores obtained six months after SAIDO Learning is implemented from patients diagnosed with dementia at Waterford Place in Jenison, Michigan. These scores are reassessed every 6 months as a standard of care. The data was deidentified by the staff of Waterford Place before given to the research team. A …